


You Make Me Proud

by HMSquared



Category: Law & Order: SVU
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Confessions, Dialogue Heavy, Episode: s22e04 Sightless in a Savage Land, First Kiss, M/M, Missing Scene
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-08
Updated: 2021-01-08
Packaged: 2021-03-12 10:47:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 387
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28634229
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HMSquared/pseuds/HMSquared
Summary: Carisi expects Barba to be angry. He couldn’t be farther from the truth. 22.04
Relationships: Rafael Barba/Dominick "Sonny" Carisi Jr.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 63





	You Make Me Proud

**Author's Note:**

> God, I missed Barba.
> 
> It was so, so good to see him again. The whole episode was surreal, and I loved it. Barba's personality didn't change a bit, and the few stumbles he made were realistic.
> 
> Enjoy!

Carisi walked back to his desk, shooting Barba a  _ very  _ dirty look. The former ADA was the most worried he’d ever seen.

Out in the hallway, he paced. Carisi’s heart had stopped pounding, but his blood was cold. He felt nauseous.

They were going to win, that much was clear… but at what cost? Maybe Barba wanted to stay before. Now there was no way in hell.

“Carisi!” Speak of the Devil. He braked to a stop.

“Jury come back already?”

“No, I just wanted to see you.” Barba looked genuinely concerned. “Carisi, your cheeks and neck are pink.”

“I’m fine.”

“No, you’re not.” Carisi watched his friend’s hands slip into the pockets of his jacket. “Carisi… what’s wrong?”

“I…” He trailed off; words failed him. Barba’s eyes lingered on Carisi’s face.

“You’re worried I’ll leave.” It took him a moment to answer.

“Yeah. Yeah, I am.”

“Shut up.” Carisi looked up, startled. The worried expression had returned to Barba’s face. “Just shut up and listen. No matter what the jury decides, and let’s be honest, you won…” He trailed off and shut his eyes for a moment. “We need to talk, Carisi.”

“Okay. About what?”

“About…” Barba was surprisingly nervous. He tried again. “You make me proud.” Carisi’s eyes widened; he didn’t speak. “I thought the place would fall apart without me, but I was so wrong.”

A nervous, tearful laugh escaped Barba. He looked… bashful, for lack of a better term. The smile on his face faded after a moment.

“When you became interested in law, when you became my protege, I was annoyed at first. But… I realized why I was annoyed. Because I thought you were playing with me.”

“Are you kidding? I may not have acted serious—“ Barba held up his hand; Carisi fell silent.

“I thought you were leading me on. And I decided the best course of action was to bottle my feelings up.” His hand grazed the corner of Carisi’s jacket. “Well, Sonny, I’m done.” And then Barba yanked his friend into a kiss.

It was raw and wanting. It was six years of bottled-up emotions finally spilling onto the table.

When they broke apart, a heavy gasp escaped Carisi. Barba’s hands were still on his face.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner.”

“Better late than never, Rafael.”


End file.
